Let’s face it: heating is probably the last thing on your mind right if you live in Hammond, LA right now. Our steamy southern summers are in full swing, and homeowners are rightfully focused on keeping their air conditioners well maintained. But the heat will cool off before you know it, and while Louisiana is a long way from Michigan or Maine, we still get our share of chilly nights in the winter. The last thing you want is to fire up your heater, only to find out that it needs a major repair or even have it running with less efficiency than you expect. You can get a jump on that by planning for heating maintenance now, before the temperatures drop.
Professional Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Heating’
Get a Jump on Heating Maintenance Now
Monday, July 27th, 2015Why You Shouldn’t Wait for Heating Repairs Even at the End of Winter
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015As we approach the end of winter, most of us will start thinking less about the heating systems in our homes and more about turning on the air conditioning systems to keep everyone in our households cooled down through another warm Louisiana summer. But we can still expect to rely on heating in Ponchatoula, LA for a bit longer, as well as during occasional spring cold days, so it’s important that we don’t forget about our homes’ heaters during this time. Especially if they show signs that they need to have repairs done.
If you believe that your heater, whether a furnace or heat pump, has a malfunction, you should never delay schedule repairs just because warm weather is around the corner. Pick up the phone and call A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning as soon as possible, and our expert technicians will see that you have the necessary repair work done.
But why should I bother with repairs now? Why not wait for fall?
There are a number of good reasons that you should always have repairs done when malfunctions crop up. If you have a gas-powered furnace, the #1 reason is safety. Gas furnaces are built today with safe performance uppermost in mind, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore repair issues. The best way to keep a gas furnace from creating health hazards due to toxic and combustible gas leaks is to have any repairs done promptly. It’s not worth taking the risk.
However, even if you have an electrically powered heating systems, it’s important to have repairs done s soon as you can arrange them. You will still need your heating system at points during the spring, and if you don’t have the necessary repairs taken care of, there is a much higher chance that the heater will completely break down, leaving you scrambling for emergency service to fix it. The unit will also drain additional power to operate and result in unnecessarily inflated bills.
Also keep in mind that a heating system that operates with faults will age must faster because of the additional stress placed on it. If you keep running the heater, you will start shortening its lifespan. The most expensive “repair” you can have done for a heating system is to need to replace it early. To see that this doesn’t happen, always move fast to have any repair work done.
A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning offers emergency repairs for heating in Ponchatoula, LA any time of the day or night. You can trust to our skilled technicians to find the problems in your heater and have them fixed so you are always ready for cold weather.
Signs That It’s Time to Replace Your Heater
Thursday, February 5th, 2015No one likes to hear that their heater is at the end of its life. Unfortunately, that eventuality claims all heating systems. No matter how well you maintain your heating system, you will eventually see a day where it has to be replaced. Are you prepared to recognize that day when it arrives, however? Let’s examine the signs that indicate it’s time to replace your heater, instead of repairing it.
Repairs Increase in Frequency and Cost
Even a newer heater will incur repair needs on occasion. The odd faulty part or unusual circumstance will arise every so often that requires professional attention. As your heater gets closer to the end of its lifespan, however, these occurrences will begin to become more and more frequent and costly. It will begin to seem like your heater breaks down at least every other month, and the cost of each repair will steadily grow as replacement parts stop becoming available. Once this begins happening, it is very likely that your heater needs to be replaced.
Rise in Heating Bills
If your heating bills begin to show a consistent rise month after month, it’s a sign that something is wrong with your heating system. Normally, there should be slight variations in your heating bill as your need for heat fluctuates. As the heater gets older, however, the various parts in the system begin to wear down. This slowly decreases their efficiency, lowering the system’s heat output until it has to stay on for much longer in order to heat the same sized space. If your heating bills are getting more and more expensive for no apparent reason, you should consider replacing your heater.
Age
Age is often the number one indicator of whether or not you should replace your heater. The older a heater gets, the harder it gets to keep it in good condition. Parts go out of production, and advancing efficiency in newer systems vastly increases the benefits of replacing the old heater with a new one. If your heater is older than 10-15 years old, even if it seems to be working fine, it might be a good idea to start looking at replacing it.
If you think your heater may need replacing, schedule an appointment with A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We provide heating services in the Covington area.
What Is a Standing Pilot?
Friday, December 12th, 2014A standing pilot is the standard ignition device for most natural gas burning heating systems, and has been for many years. It’s a continuously burning flame at the bottom of the heater, responsible for starting the burners that actually generate heat for the home. Though it’s a widely used technology, there are a few things that have given it a less-than-stellar reputation. Read on for an explanation of how a standing pilot works, as well as some common issues with it.
How it Works
A standing pilot light is actually fairly simple in design. A gas line terminates in a small burner, which creates the flame. A bit of composite metal wire, called a “thermocouple,” connects the burner to a valve in the gas line. When the pilot light is lit, the thermocouple registers the heat and generates an electric current. The current travels down the thermocouple to the gas valve and opens it. This is what keeps the pilot light burning. When the pilot light goes out, the thermocouple’s electric current stops and the gas valve closes. This is a safety measure to prevent gas from flooding your home.
Common Problems
The most common problem for standing pilot lights is the light going out. This tends to happen because the flame is unprotected from air currents or sudden draft. Though there is an ignition system on most heaters to relight the pilot light, there are other issues that can occur.
The thermocouple for the pilot light often wears out over time, eventually losing the ability to create an electrical current. This can occur from wear and tear, corrosion, becoming detached from the volt meter, or simply becoming bent way from the pilot flame. Regardless of the way that the thermocouple stops working, the effect is the same: the pilot light is unable to stay lit. If your pilot light seems to light without issues, but almost immediately goes out, it’s because the thermocouple is no longer keeping the gas valve to the flame open.
If you’re having issues with your pilot light, call A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We offer professional heating services throughout Covington.
How Can I Keep My Heater as Reliable as Possible?
Friday, October 31st, 2014Having heat on the coldest of days of winter is one of the things you expect from your heating. While there’s no way to guarantee that you’ll never experience issues with your heater, there are a few things you can do to help retain the reliability of your system throughout the winter season. Knowing you have help on hand 24/7 can go a long way toward relieving worries around potential heat loss, so if you do experience problems with your heating this winter, call the people you can rely on: A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning.
Ways to Keep Your Heat Going
Here are some suggestions on how to keep your heating as reliable as possible this year:
Schedule Annual Maintenance
Every season that your heater operates, a layer of dirt and dust accumulates, along with other general wear and tear. Without annual maintenance, this layer of dirt and dust, along with other issues, continues into each season afterward, reducing performance, energy efficiency and the lifespan of your system. Scheduling annual maintenance is an easy way to make sure that your system runs optimally each season, and for a long time.
Make Needed Repairs
Are you ignoring the signs of problems with your system, such as strange sounds and odors or poor performance levels? Making needed repairs as soon as possible allows your system to operate as it was made to; not making repairs forces your system to work under stress, which can lead to even poorer performance quality and a potential breakdown. Operational problems worsen with time, so make needed repairs when they occur.
Take Care of Ductwork
Your ductwork is an important part of your heating system, and when it is faulty you can experience high energy bills, poor indoor air quality and decreased comfort. It is recommended that ductwork is cleaned every 3-5 years, and if you see any signs of faulty ductwork, you may want to consider duct repair, replacement or sealing.
No one likes ineffectual heating, and by using some of the suggestions outlined above, you can help yourself and your heating system this year. Have questions? Call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning and schedule your heating service in Ponchatoula, LA with one of our HVAC experts.
How to Prepare Your Heater for Summer
Monday, March 24th, 2014We haven’t reached the full bloom of warm weather yet in Kenner, but we’ll arrive there soon. Air conditioners will switch on, and heaters switch off, and we can expect the situation to stay the same until the fall. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore your heater entirely as the cooler season winds down. You have a prime opportunity now to prepare your heater for its summer vacation so it will roar back to life when you need it in the fall and winter.
Here are some tips for what you can do during this time of the year to prep your heating system for summer. Our technicians at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning can assist you with your heating in Kenner, LA whenever you need us… we’re on call with 24-hour emergency service.
Some heating preparations for summer
- Catch up on maintenance: Did you have regular maintenance done on your heater last fall before the winter weather started? Don’t fret if you forgot or put it off; at least your heater made it through the winter. But you can’t trust it to keep going without a check-up, so schedule maintenance now if you haven’t done it in over a year. It’s never too late for an inspection and tune-up.
- Get to any repair issues now: It’s a big mistake to let a repair need in a heater slide because the weather is about to get warmer. That current small malfunction, like a clicking from the furnace cabinet or low airflow from the vents, might have turned into a huge malfunction—or even a breakdown—when you switch the heater back on in late fall. Have repairs taken care of now, while HVAC technicians still have easy appointment openings.
- Schedule duct cleaning: If your forced-air heating system chugged away all winter, it has probably drawn a large amount of dust into its ductwork. Because your air conditioner will use these same vents, you don’t want to give it any difficulty. Schedule duct cleaning to make sure your heater and air conditioner are ready to handle the airflow, and so you’ll receive superior indoor air quality.
Keep in mind that you might need to turn your heater on at some point during the summer, such as on rainy nights. It’s always a good idea to have your heating system ready to help you. Keep it in the best shape possible with spring preparations. Call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning for further help with your Kenner, LA heating system service needs.
The Best Heating Systems for You
Monday, January 27th, 2014There are so many different heating systems available on the market today that even thinking about new installation for your home can make your head swim. However, we’re here to help: we’ve outlined the top heating systems for Hammond, LA homes. To help you further narrow down your choices, call our heating experts at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning.
Furnaces
Furnaces are the old warhorses of the heating world, existing in some form since humans first moved into cities. Modern furnaces come in numerous styles that use a variety of heat sources, so there’s almost always a furnace that’s right for your home. Natural gas-powered furnaces are particularly energy-efficienct and effective at providing whatever level of heat you need.
Heat Pumps
The climate in Hammond is well-suited for a heat pump, an electrically-powered system that is essentially and air conditioner that can reverse the direction it moves heat so it brings heat inside your home. The major advantage of a heat pump is that it works as both an AC and a heater, so you’re covered for a whole year with a single unit. Heat pumps also have high energy-efficiency in heating mode because they use electricity to power the mechanics that move heat, not to directly generate heat as in an electric furnace.
Ductless Mini Split Heat Pumps
This system uses the same method of providing heat as a heat pump: the difference is its delivery system. As the name implies, ductless mini split heat pumps do not require ductwork. Instead, they use multiple blower units mounted on walls throughout a home to push the conditioned air directly into the rooms. This saves money on duct cleaning and repairs, and also gives you control over which rooms receive heating/cooling.
Fireplaces
Wait… what? A fireplace is only cosmetic, right? No, not necessarily. Although we don’t advise that you have a fireplace as your sole heating system, an efficient gas log or electric insert, or a pellet stove, can provide large levels of heat to a specific place in the home that can take some of the stress off your other systems. And, of course, they come with the benefit of coziness.
All of these heating systems require professional installation, so make the wise move and have the installers involved from the start of choosing a heater. An HVAC expert can determine your home’s particular needs for proper heating, and then match you with the right system to give you the best comfort possible. After that, the installation experts will put in your new system and you’ll be enjoying quality heat in no time at all.
Make your call about which of these heating systems in Hammond, LA will work for you to A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We combine the service of a large company with the personal touch of a small one.
Which is Better: Gas or Oil Systems?
Friday, January 10th, 2014For many years, oil was one of the main fuel sources people used to power their heating systems: boilers and furnaces often ran from a supply of oil. Today, oil has lost ground to natural gas that is piped into homes through lines from a municipal supply. The most popular furnace and boiler models today are powered by natural gas.
Is natural gas the superior option? We definitely think so, and we’ll explain in this post the benefits of natural gas over oil when it comes to heating in Hammond, LA. For more about installing a natural gas heater in your home, or if you need repairs or maintenance, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning… any time of the day or night.
The advantages of natural gas
- Easy access: Natural gas comes directly into homes through pipes. You can run out of your oil supply and need to wait for delivery before you get your heating back, but you always have natural gas ready whenever you need it.
- Less expensive: Natural gas is not only less expensive than oil, it’s often less expensive than electricity. Comparison studies have shown that it can cost up to three times more to heat a home during the winter with oil than with electricity.
- Useful in other parts of your home: Natural gas is useful throughout a house, not just for a heating system. It can power stoves and ovens, and even some laundry machines.
- Better for the environment: Natural gas burns “cleaner” than most fossil fuels, which means it produces fewer emissions that are toxic for the environment. And this works locally as well as globally: there’s none of the soot that burning oil can leave behind.
There is only major disadvantage with natural gas: you need to have a connection to a municipal supply. If you don’t have access to natural gas, then propane or electric furnaces (or a heat pump) are perhaps the best route to go for heating. Electricity is always available, although propane furnaces can often reach higher levels of heat. Consult with home comfort experts for your best option.
When you are researching choices for heating systems in Hammond, LA, have professionals working with you from the beginning. A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning has a staff of heating experts who will know the right system for keeping your house warm this winter and for many winters in the future. Contact us today to get started.
How Often Does My Heater Need Professional Care?
Monday, December 2nd, 2013If you’re asking this question, you’ve already made a positive step: you know your heating system requires professional attention in order for it to work its best. Any mechanical device needs service and care, as well as repairs, occasionally. However, you may wonder exactly how often you will need professional work on your heating system.
In this post, we will give you two specific answers to that question. When you need professional heating service in Hammond, LA, call us at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning to get the expert and personal touch that will take care of your heater.
You should schedule professional care for your heater…
- Annually. Heating systems, regardless of durability, should have a maintenance visit once a year. Twelve months is more than enough time for a heating system to develop kinks and flaws that will begin to cause it to work less efficiently—and eventually lead to a breakdown. A maintenance visit will check, clean, and tune-up your system so it can soldier through another year with the fewest problems possible. Maintenance will also catch possible repair needs before they become serious or expand into more expensive repairs. Enroll in a maintenance program from a dependable HVAC contractor, and you’ll have your heater’s care covered every year.
- Whenever something seems wrong. Don’t wait for any problem with your heater to get worse. The moment the heating system in your house begins to display irregular behavior—odd smells from the vents, strange grinding and clicking sounds, uneven heating, a drop in air flow, an unexplained increase on your heating bills—you need to have experts come in to inspect it. Letting any of these problems continue will lead to more expensive repairs later and a possible unexpected and inconvenient breakdown. It will also reduce the lifespan of your system.
Keep your heater in good shape for the winter
If you need repairs, or if you want to start with maintenance, act now before the weather turns colder. HVAC professionals will have busier schedules when the thermometer drops and people require heating services, so take advantage of the current slower season.
At A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning, we make it our goal to deliver you 100% satisfaction with our work. You can trust us to give your heating system in Hammond, LA quality care so it will keep working for you for many years with few repair service calls. Call us today to enroll in our maintenance program, or call us any time of the day or night for emergency services.
Hire a Pro to Handle Your Repairs and Installations
Wednesday, November 27th, 2013We know it’s a big responsibility owning a home or commercial space, but at A-Professional Heating & Air Conditioning, we strive to make it easier on you. Whether your home’s air conditioning or heating unit needs to be replaced or your commercial units needs a repair, you can count on us to provide you with exceptional customer service and workmanship. Having a comfortable space year round is important, especially living in Hammond, LA where the temperatures can be extreme. Call us today to schedule an appointment or schedule service online.
